Keanu Reeves to Star in Romantic Thriller ‘Siberia’
Dave McNary
Film Reporter @Variety_DMcNary
February 1, 2017 | 12:18PM PT
Keanu Reeves will star in the romantic thriller “Siberia” from director Matthew Ross.
IM Global is launching international sales at the European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival. Producers are Gabriela Bacher and “Passengers” producer Stephen Hamel.
Filming is set to start later this year. Ross, who made his directorial debut with “Frank & Lola,” is helming from a script by Scott Smith.
Reeves will portray an American diamond trader trying to sell blue diamonds of dubious origin to buyers in Russia, where the jewels and his partner disappear. He then journeys to Siberia and begins an affair with a cafe owner.
Reeves stars in the upcoming actioner “John Wick: Chapter 2,” which Lionsgate opens on Feb. 10. Laurence Fishburne also stars in the film, marking their first on-screen reunion since the “The Matrix” trilogy.
He’s also in Marti Noxon’s anorexia drama “To the Bone,” which premiered at Sundance and sold to Netflix.
Ross wrote and directed “Frank & Lola,” starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. The film premiered at Sundance last year and was released through Universal.
Reeves and Ross are repped by WME, while Ross is managed by MGMT.

'Frank & Lola' helmer Matthew Ross is directing.
Keanu Reeves is attached to star in the romantic thriller Siberia.
Frank & Lola director Matthew Ross will helm the film, which IM Global is introducing to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin. WME Global is handling domestic rights.
The story centers on American diamond trader Lucas, who goes to Russia to meet with his Russian partner, Pyotr, to sell blue diamonds. When Pyotr goes missing, Lucas ventures deep into Siberia to find him and the diamonds, but instead finds Katya, a local cafe owner, and is drawn into a steamy affair.
Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan) penned the script.
Reeves will next be seen in John Wick: Chapter 2, hitting theaters Feb. 10 and sci-fi thriller Replicas with Alice Eve. He also starred in To the Bone, which debuted at Sundance. He’s repped by WME and Ziffren Brittenham.
Ross wrote and directed the drama Frank & Lola starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. He’s repped by WME, MGMT Entertainment and Hansen Jacobson.
Smith is repped by CAA, Circle of Confusion, and attorney Howard Abramson

Keanu Reeves Heading To ‘Siberia’ With ‘Frank & Lola’ Director Matthew Ross – Berlin
by Diana Lodderhose
February 1, 2017 10:55am
Keanu Reeves is in advanced negotiations to star in the romantic-thriller Siberia, directed by Matthew Ross. Hamel and Reeves of Company Films and Gabriela Bacher of Summerstorm/Film House Germany are producing the film. Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan) writes the script based on a treatment by Stephen Hamel.
IM Global is handling international sales for the title with WME Global repping domestic. It will be launched to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin next week.
Story follows an American diamond merchant, who travels to Russia to sell rare blue diamonds of questionable origin. As the deal begins to collapse he falls into an obsessive relationship with a Russian cafe owner in a small Siberian town. As their passion builds, so does the treacherous world of the diamond trade from which he is unable to extricate himself. Both collide as the American man desperately looks for escape in a world with no exit.
IM Global’s SVP, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, John Zois, negotiated the deal on behalf of IM Global.
Reeves starred alongside Lily Collins in Marti Noxon’s To the Bone, a drama that premiered in Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic section last month and sold to Netflix for $8 million. He’s in John Wick 2, which opens February 10, and is attached to upcoming title Chinese road movie Rally Car with Olivier Megaton.
Ross is the writer-director behind Frank & Lola, starring Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots. The film, which marked his directorial debut, premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance 2016 and was released through Universal.
IM Global is also headed into EFM with sexy noir Serenity, written and directed by Steven Knight with Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in negotiations to star.
Reeves and Ross are repped by WME and Ross is managed by MGMT.

Aleks Paunovic [...] has also secured a role in Matthew Ross’ romantic thriller Siberia, which stars Keanu Reeves. It’s about an American diamond merchant, who travels to Russia and gets entangled in an obsessive relationship with a Russian cafe owner in a small Siberian town. Paunovic’s playing Yefrem in the film. Company Films and Summerstorm/Film House Germany are producing.

Skene has worked with the likes of Michael Fassbender, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Paul Walker and, more recently, Keanu Reeves. Reeves in fact does many of his own stunts.
"He acts just exactly like a stuntman," Skene said of Reeves. "He kind of works through it point by point and doesn't really mess around and gets it done right and efficient."

Considering how the score can influence the overall tone, it's no surprise that there's an element of trust required between composer and director (or editor or producer, depending on the project). Often, when this trust is achieved, the director will give the pair a free rein to work their musical magic. "Denis [Villeneuve] was great. It's another situation where we've had a director who was basically like 'I love what you do, do it,'" says Jurriaans, adding that 50 per cent of the process is communicating and working through ideas.

This is a process soon to be taken for Siberia, an upcoming project starring Keanu Reeves as a merchant who travels to Russia to sell a collection of conspicuous diamonds. This is the second time they'll work with director Matthew Ross, after his impressive debut, Frank and Lola. Although specifics were undisclosed, Jurriaans laughs as he mentions that, like the majority of their back catalogue, the film will be dark. "There's a lot of different directions we could go, we're talking about noir-ish kinda feelings, but we're not sure yet," says Jurriaans.